To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

ADOLESCENT CIGARETTE USE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS: RELATION TO ADULT OBESITY RISK
by
Guneet Kaur
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PREVENTIVE MEDICINE)
May 2008
Copyright 2008 Guneet Kaur

Cigarette use, depression, and obesity are major health threats to society. The three studies of this dissertation examined the inter-relations of cigarette use, psychological distress, physical activity, self-rated health, coping, and body mass index (BMI) among subjects aged 11-34 years in a drug abuse prevention trial, the Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP), in Kansas City and Indianapolis.; Study 1 examined the longitudinal relations between cigarette use in adolescence to cigarette use, distress, physical activity, and self-rated health, and BMI in adulthood in Kansas City. Results from this study suggest that adolescent cigarette use was associated with continuing cigarette use, high distress, and lower BMI in adulthood. Findings from Study 1 suggest that prevention efforts need to counteract the weight-control 'benefits' of smoking with a focus on healthy ways to loose or maintain weight.; Study 2 examined gender differences in the interrelations of cigarette use, distress, physical activity, self-rated health, and BMI longitudinally, from adolescence to adulthood in the 'stacked' dataset (included both Kansas City and Indianapolis). Tests of measurement invariance demonstrated that overall data were invariant across males and females. Out of a total of 25 parameters tested, only two covariances and two regression weights were different between the two groups. Results from Study 2 suggest that universal prevention programs be augmented with separate components for males and females that address the varying correlations and paths that were different between the two groups.; Study 3 examined the roles of maladaptive and adaptive coping as a mediator/moderator in the distress-BMI relation in the stacked dataset (included both Kansas City and Indianapolis). Structural equation modeling showed that maladaptive coping did not operate as a mediator in the distress-BMI relation. Tests of measurement invariance demonstrated that data were not invariant across low adaptive and high adaptive coping groups, with 10 out of a total of 15 factor loadings tested different between the two groups. Results from Study 3 demonstrate a moderator effect of adaptive coping in the relations between constructs studied.; Overall, findings from the dissertation will inform the development of prevention program that target multiple constructs instead of focusing on a single construct.

ADOLESCENT CIGARETTE USE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS: RELATION TO ADULT OBESITY RISK
by
Guneet Kaur
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PREVENTIVE MEDICINE)
May 2008
Copyright 2008 Guneet Kaur